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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23584819">Happy birthday, Mr. Jefferson</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jefferfieldheaven/pseuds/jefferfieldheaven'>jefferfieldheaven</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Life Is Strange (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Birthday Cake, F/M, Kissing, Photography, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:42:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23584819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jefferfieldheaven/pseuds/jefferfieldheaven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It is the day of Mark Jefferson's 45th birthday, and Maxine, his one and only muse, prepared a small but sweet surprise for him in the Dark Room.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Mark Jefferson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Happy birthday, Mr. Jefferson</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this small one-shot back in late 2018 for a fanbook event that didn't pan out in the end, but I wanted to share this anyway—especially considering that today is literally Mark Jefferson's 45th birthday :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Thursday, April 11, 2020</strong>
</p><p>“Come on!” Maxine exclaimed, dragging Mark by the arm and down the stairs and giggling excitedly. “And no peeking! Don’t open your eyes yet!”</p><p>“I’m coming, I’m coming, and my eyes are <em>closed</em>, alright?” he soothed, chuckling lightly and following his muse where she led him. She pushed past the foil curtain, which separated the small antechamber from the Dark Room itself,  lifting it up for the temporarily-blinded Mark as well. Once they reached the designated spot, he heard a chair scrape against the tiled floor and felt Maxine push him to sit down.  </p><p>“Okay, open your eyes now!” she chirped in a high-pitched tone, clearly getting more and more excited for him to see whatever it was that she had prepared for the occasion.</p><p>Mark lips curved into an amused smirk and his eyes fluttered open. The two of them were now sitting in the middle of the room by a medium-sized table he had installed in there for their romantic endeavors inside the Dark Room—this hidden place belonged to them both now. On the table in front of him, there was a large, white chocolate birthday cake, its top sprinkled with dark chocolate shavings. A creamy white candle in the shape of 45 was sticking out of the surface with two flames dancing in the air and forming shadow patterns on the cake.</p><p>“Oh, Max… it’s <em>beautiful</em>,” he marveled, admiring the baking. “Did you make this yourself?”</p><p>“I sure did,” she affirmed.  She slid the plate with the cake closer to Mark’s face. “Now make a wish!”</p><p>Mark closed his eyes, pretended to ponder a wish, and blew out the candle.</p><p>“What did you wish for?” Maxine asked with her eyes full of curiosity and a dreamy smile on her lips.</p><p>“I already have everything I need,” Mark said, offering his love a matching smile. “You could say I wished for things to remain unchanged.”</p><p>She sent him a content grin and then reached for the knife and sank it into the cake. The white chocolate cracked under the blade, soon revealing the dark interior.</p><p>“Light exterior, darkness inside—just like you,” Maxine jested and giggled. Mark quite enjoyed a good pun, and his sweet muse had her way of telling just the right ones. She offered him an amused, gorgeous smile, making him laugh with her, then surrender and plant a kiss on her fair, rosy lips. Intoxicating all on its own. “Happy birthday, my darling,” she said as their lips parted ways, her tiny palm on his bearded cheek, her fingers lightly stroking his skin.</p><p>“Thank you, Sweetness,” he replied softly, his smile and gaze romantic. “It certainly <em>is</em> a happy birthday, with you by my side.” He took her hand from his face, lifted it in his, and placed a tender kiss on it, a charming grin emerging from behind her knuckles as he lowered her hand back.</p><p>Maxine closed her eyes for a moment as her lips curved up higher, her smile widening. The sheer sight of joy on her gentle face was enough of a gift for Mark. The moment was all too fleeting in its nature to capture it with his camera, but he did take a mental photograph of his beautiful companion. His eidetic memory surely came in handy in such circumstances. His head was <em>filled </em>with images of Maxine—something he could play on repeat for himself whenever he wished.</p><p>The elated, ocean blue eyes stared back into his again. “I love you, you know that?” she said, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand, leaning her arm against the surface of the table.</p><p>“I know. And <em>I</em> love <em>you</em>,” he said softly. He reached out and cupped her fragile face, his thumb tracing along her lovely freckles. “So, let’s try this wonderful cake, shall we?”</p><p>Maxine nodded. “We shall.” She cut out a large piece for Mark and slid the plate towards him. “You first.”</p><p>“Alright.” Upon taking his first bite, he felt the white chocolate crumble beneath his teeth, its sweetness soon blending in together with the taste of dark chocolate and raspberry marmalade. He eagerly took another, a tad bigger bite, and was now able to discern one of his favorite flavors—whiskey. Maxine must have infused the sponge cake with it.</p><p>“Do you like it?” she inquired, her eyes excited.</p><p>“Of course. It’s <em>exquisite</em>, Max. <em>All</em> of my favorite flavors. And that little artistic touch of mixing black with white… I am truly impressed,” he stated, sounding like his serious and poised professor persona.</p><p>Maxine giggled. “I thought you’d like it. I’m glad you do.” With that, she grabbed a serving of the cake for herself, joining him in the consumption.</p><p>When they were done, Maxine stood up from her seat and protruded her hand towards him. “I’d say a celebratory session is in order,” she announced. “Wouldn’t you agree?”</p><p>“As if I would <em>ever</em> say no,” he responded, joy flickering across his features. There was always something more about Maxine that he hadn’t yet been able to seize, thus immortalizing his muse was always a delight, even more so whenever she offered herself to him as a surprise.</p><p>He took her hand in his and they walked over to the studio area. Maxine stood beside it, clasping her hands together and waiting for his instructions, while Mark properly set up the equipment. Being mindful of Maxine’s black dress, he kept the white backdrop up. He needed to make sure everything was nothing short of <em>perfect</em>. His muse deserved a treatment of the highest quality. And that meant photographing her in his favorite style—chiaroscuro.</p><p>As the final touch, Mark brought the same old, black leather armchair to the middle of the studio area, and sat his best subject down. His little goddess ensconced herself in the firm cushions and looked up at him with a light smile, immediately catching his attention. “<em>There</em>, hold that pose,” he murmured.</p><p>Then, the shutter going off second by second, those wide, blue eyes staring directly into the lens, as Mark, focused and captivated, kept immortalizing the tiny beauty before him. He crouched down in front of her and lowered his camera eye, his tense features softened in an instant. He gazed at her in disbelief, his dark brown irises frantically taking in every little detail of her gentle face. A stunning sight to behold.</p><p>Maxine’s cheeks then suffused with a perfect, pink blush.</p><p>“God… you’re so <em>beautiful</em>,” Mark lauded, shaking his head and lost for words. His tender palm on her cheek elicited a gorgeous smile from her and he was a goner.</p>
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